In June 1802, midway through his five-year scientific exploration of Spanish America, Alexander von Humboldt set out to climb Chimborazo, a 20,564-foot volcano in Ecuador’s Cordillera Occidental. At the time, it was thought to be the highest mountain in the world (a claim recently thrown back into contention by scientists measuring from the center of … Read more
Two sisters, Montana’s Centennial Valley, plus lots of painting and sketching and laughing and, yes, hiking. But slowly. Everything, slowly. For goodness’ sake, slow.
In 2021, an expedition off the icy northern Greenland coast spotted what appeared to be a previously uncharted island. It was small and gravelly, and it was declared a contender for the title of the most northerly known land mass in the world. The discoverers named it Qeqertaq Avannarleq – Greenlandic for “the northern most … Read more
A few years back I wrote about my switch from hiking boots to trail runners and back again, at least for backpacking or seriously challenging day hikes. I think it’s worth reading that article and the comments, to really dig into the various points of view regarding shoe choice, but the tl;dr version is this: … Read more
Although it still feels like beach weather across much of North America, billions of birds have started taking wing for one of nature’s great spectacles: fall migration. Birds fly south from the northern U.S. and Canada to wintering grounds in the southern U.S., Caribbean and Latin America, sometimes covering thousands of miles. Other birds leave … Read more
We’re on our own adventures this week, so please enjoy this lovely piece from 2015, written by our great friend Brendon Leonard. It’s a story about…well, you saw the headline. -Ed. I walked up the stairs at my apartment building recently, five $20 bills in my hand, and paused for just a second halfway up, … Read more
Wow. Sure, it prob helps to have a real open mind (wink wink) to enjoy this to its fullest, but this short film captures what it feels like to let yourself become fully immersed in a wild space when you’re out there all alone, remembering you are indeed an animal part of this planet too.
The German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was, by all accounts, a miserable human being. He famously sought meaning through suffering, which he experienced in ample amounts throughout his life. Nietzsche struggled with depression, suicidal ideation, and hallucinations, and when he was 44 — around the height of his philosophical output — he suffered a nervous … Read more
600,000 acres of unending prairie, craggy badlands, and unparalleled stargazing. This is Buffalo Gap National Grassland, from the lens of More Than Just Parks, and South Dakota Tourism.
Yvon Chouinard has gained a reputation as a radical all his life. He invented rigid crampons and perfected a drooped-pick ice axe that hurtled ice climbing out of its classic days of cutting endless steps (“stairways to the stars”) to clawing up vertical ice. I got swept along in its early days and am proud … Read more